nerdinthelibrary's Reviews (926)

This was such a cute first volume! I’m a sucker for cooking show shenanigans, and when you throw space, alien babes and sapphic vibes in there as well then you’ve basically made the perfect graphic novel. Can’t wait to read volume two!

content warnings: homophobia, death threats, discussions of forced outing, a character gets kicked out of her house because of her sexuality, mentions of conversion therapy, use of the f-slur

“He said that people like us, we get to choose our families. We get to choose the people around us, and I never thought about that before. If family is love, then the people we love are family.”

Hm, I definitely have some complicated feelings about this book. But before we get into that I would like to start this review by saying that this book does not have lesbian erasure. From what I can tell from the two minutes of research I did, there was an issue a lot of reviewers were having when the ARC of this came out because one of the lead's sexuality had been changed from lesbian to pansexual. However, this is not the case in the final copy. As far as I can tell, both the leads in this identify as lesbians.

Now, onto my complicated feelings. For context, while I've never seen or listened to the musical I'm well aware of its existence because I follow several musical nerds on Twitter and it was nominated for but didn't win a bunch of Tony's this year. I've always been interested in the musical, though, and now I want to listen to the soundtrack even more.

The Prom is about two teenage girls, Emma and Alyssa, who live in Edgewater, Indiana. They've been dating for a year and a half, and with their senior prom coming up they just want to be able to go to the prom together. But when the school finds out that Emma, the only one of the pair who's out, plans to take a girl to the prom, all hell breaks loose. There are protests, threats of the prom being shut down, and a group of former Broadway stars rolling into town to help.

This is an extremely short book (only a hair above 200 pages) and it moves. I read this in around an hour and a half, and that's me reading slowly. The plot is very fast-paced, to the point where by about halfway I wanted it to slow down and breathe. Obviously this is a novelisation of the musical but I feel like even when something's a novelisation it should still be able to stand on its own, whereas this felt like it was relying on you already knowing and loving the musical so you don't need it to slow down and let you have time to get to know the characters or setting.

Speaking of the characters... I was pretty meh on all of them. Most of them were pretty unmemorable, and that unfortunately includes the two leads. No one really has a personality outside of one (1) hobby they have. The only character I really got attached to was Emma's Nan, and that's just because she's a cool old lady who wants to fight for her granddaughter's rights.

Going back to the pacing, I think that also seriously hurt in regards to character development. There are several major side characters who are the cheerleaders/jocks and the ones who predominantly bully Emma throughout the book. But then, not to spoil too much, after one eyeopening conversation and Emma posting a video about her experiences, some of them immediately jump ship and become Emma and Alyssa's biggest supporters. It didn't really track for me and I wish that we could have seen at least a scene or two more of them wrestling with the homophobia that's been drilled into them from birth.

Now you may be wondering why, with all these gripes I seem to have, I still gave this book 3 stars. The simple answer is that it's fun, fast-paced and I enjoyed the experience of reading it for the most part. It's not spectacular by any means, but it was a fine way to spend a couple hours on an otherwise uninteresting afternoon. While there are dozens of other F/F contemporaries I would suggest over this, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't recommend picking it up if you have a few hours to kill.

Buzzword readathon #12

Damn, I really wish I had enjoyed this more than I did. I like the set-up of a girl getting in way too deep with her crush who happens to be a grim reaper, but... eh. It just didn't do enough with the concept for my liking. The entire thing just didn't do enough, to be honest. The romance was cute but super surface-level, and the art was just okay. The entire thing in general was just way too cutesy and quirky for my liking.

3.5/5

Buzzword Readathon #3

I want this to be a webseries more than I want air right now. This is one of the most delightful comics I've ever read. It's just about three friends who have started uni and are trying to figure shit out. Everything about this is right up my alley, from the art style to the great banter. And that's not even mentioning the endlessly lovable characters.

To probably no one's surprise, Esther was my favourite of the three, and I'm mature enough to admit that it's probably just because I want to date her. I did love Daisy and Susan too, as well as Ed and McGraw, but Esther has just skyrocketed to one of my top fictional crushes and that means that she's automatically my favourite.

The humour really is top-notch, and also so up my alley. Any comic that can include jokes about misandry and Henry VIII automatically becomes a fave of mine.

Something that I think will make-or-break this comic for people is that each issue more or less reads as a stand-alone, which is why I think it would lend itself to something like a webseries over any other medium. If that's not your thing then this comic probably won't work for you, but it was very much my thing.

content warnings: depressive episodes, discussions of past self-harm, homophobia, discussion of medical experimentation, violence
representation: mlm main character, gay main jewish character of colour with depression, jewish side characters, side characters of colour, black side character

“I’m waiting for a boy who can feel everyone’s feelings. I’m waiting for a boy who is something more than human.”

This is a book that is objectively a 4-star but I'm a human with subjectivity and I love this podcast so it's getting a 5. For those who don't know, The Bright Sessions is tied with Wolf 359 as my favourite fiction podcast of all time and the fact that we're getting two more books set in this world excite me to no end. So basically there was no way I was ever going to hate this book and I'm deciding to ignore every flaw it has because of that.

The Infinite Noise follows Caleb Michaels, a teenage boy who is an empath, meaning that he can feel the emotions of everyone around him. It also follows Adam Hayes, a boy whose emotions happen to vibe very well with Caleb's. They're both dorky teen boys and they fall in love.

For those who have listened to the podcast, we know beat-by-beat what's going to happen in this book. But instead of ruining the experience I think it really enhanced it for me because I just kept anticipating the moments between these characters that I knew was coming. And I can acknowledge that for those who haven't listened to the podcast it will feel like there's something missing. While this could definitely be read on its own, there are characters and parts of the world left unexplained by the book because there's an assumption that you'll either get it or just move on. As someone who got it, it was a fucking delight being inside the heads of these two losers that I've loved for years.

Caleb and Adam mean so much to me as characters and there was something so special about getting to be inside their heads and seeing their lives outside of the context of Dr. Bright's sessions. Lauren Shippen also uses this book as an opportunity to really flesh out characters like Caitlin, Alice and their parents who you never formally met in the podcast, which is exactly what a companion should do in my opinion.

I just really want to re-listen to the entire podcast now because I forgot how much I missed being with these characters, not only Caleb and Adam but also characters like Dr. Bright and Chloe. Hell, even seeing Damien was fun and made me nostalgic for sitting in the library in Year 11 listening to the episode where Caleb and Adam get together for the umpteenth time.

If you've listened to and love The Bright Sessions then I can't see you not loving this and would recommend you read it immediately. If you've never listened to the podcast then you could read this, but to get the full experience I think you should maybe at least listen to the first season. And then listen to the next four because it's absolutely wonderful.

1) Carry On ★★★★★


content warnings: violence, medical experimentation, racism, homophobia
representation: depressed mlm main character, gay main character, m/m main relationship, indian main character, black main character

“I’d give him all that I am.
I’d give him all that I was.
I’d open up a vein.
I’d tie our hearts together, chamber by chamber.”

This is a book that I have surprisingly complicated feelings about. Carry On, despite its many faults, is one of my favourite books that I will regularly reread parts of because reading it feels like a warm hug. So there's basically no way that this could have lived up to that. But even though it didn't, that doesn't mean it's bad by any means. Just not as good.

Wayward Son is set a couple years after the first book and everyone's mental health is not doin' great so Penny decides that she, Simon and Baz should all go on a road trip in America to see Agatha. Meanwhile Agatha's friend has dragged her into going to this retreat full of weirdo rich people who seem a little culty. Chaos ensues from there.

Plot-wise this was just okay. I can't really put my finger on why the plot didn't work for me all the time because on paper it's great. I think part of it is that I'm only in this series for the characters so whenever it would get too plotty I lost interest. That's also probably part of the reason why this took me a month to read despite only being around 350 pages.

Luckily, what this book lacked in plot it certainly made up for in characters. I want to focus on one in particular though, and that's Agatha. Of the four main characters, Agatha was easily the one who made the least impression in the first book, so I was really glad to get to see a lot more of her in this one. When the book picks up she's more or less completely abandoned magic, living in America now with her wand left back in England and just trying to be a normal college-aged woman. But over the course of the book she really comes to terms with her magic and what it means for her as a person, and whether she really wants to give it up. I would also say that this book is giving me some serious queer vibes with her, especially towards the beginning. Personally I've always headcanoned her as asexual and honestly that kind of seems like a possibility now? I dunno, we'll see.

I also love her relationship with Penny, and I have ever since the first book. Their push-and-pull friendship is so entertaining and lovely, and there's a moment during the climax of this book of the both of them that might be my favourite moment of the whole book.

Another relationship I loved was Baz and Penny, who also have a somewhat tumultuous friendship but in a very different way. You often get the feeling that these two really just don't want to be friends but somehow they ended up being basically family, and I love that shit. There are several moments in this book when Baz will just think about how brilliant Penny is, or Penny will start worrying about Baz for no real reason, and I loved that.

Then of course, Simon and Baz, who probably have the most complicated relationship in the whole book. After everything that happened in Carry On Simon has become really depressed and neither he nor Baz really know how to deal with that. Seeing them trying to navigate their relationship was sometimes heartbreaking throughout this book, but where it left off made me hopeful for book three.

And yes, the ending of this book is a very cruel cliffhanger and I do not appreciate the fact that we don't even know when we're getting a sequel.

So all in all, this is kind of a disappointing follow-up but in a lot of ways it's not this books fault; I just love that first book so damn much. I would still recommend this to any Carry On fan who just wants to spend more time with their favourite characters with a little bit of interesting worldbuilding.

Review also posted to my blog.


content warnings: violence, parental abuse (discussed), abandonment, attempted human sacrifice, cult activity, homophobia
representation: indonesian bisexual main character, gay main character, korean main character, asian lesbian main character, bisexual main character, pansexual asian side character, aro/ace mexican side character, bisexual side character

“I want to do this myself. And I want more than to be head of an Institute. I’ve realized - I don’t need to change. And neither do you, Helen, or you, Aline. It’s the world that needs to change, and we’re going to be the ones to change it.”

Yes, I know that this took me nearly four months to read, but I've been having a weird reading slump where reading physical books is just not working for me and I didn't want to ruin this book by reading it when I wasn't in the mood. But now I've finally finished it and, unsurprisingly, I loved it.

This is set during City of Fallen Angels during the time when Magnus and Alec are MIA because they're on vacation. The entirety of this book chronicles said vacation as, while enjoying themselves in Europe, they discover that a cult known as the Crimson Hand has started causing some trouble and Magnus might have accidentally founded this cult back in the day for a laugh.

I'm not gonna lie, I was nervous going into this book because, quite frankly, reading about Alec and Magnus' relationship in CoFA/CoLS is kind of painful for me. Particularly in CoLS, a lot of their relationship feels defined by their distrust of one another and is all just leading to their inevitable breakup at the end of that book.

Luckily, while this book deals with them still being somewhat unfamiliar with each other because of how new their relationship is, it isn't too focused on Magnus' secrets and Alec's insecurity. It cares a lot more about their blossoming relationship and their European shenanigans. In fact, this book (along with QoAaD and TLIL) gave me a greater appreciation for their relationship as well as both of them as individual characters.

Aside from them though, the rest of this book is populated with a lot of our other favourite queer characters. In fact, with the notable exception of a new character Shinyun, every major character falls somewhere on the LGBTQ+ spectrum. In a lot of ways, this book feels like a celebration of the LGBTQ+ Shadowhunters characters, with a narrative focused solely on them and them being allowed to be as queer as they like.

We get Aline, plus Alec not realising how unbelievably gay Aline is and assuming she's still longing after Jace; we get Helen, who's first introduced to us making out with the lovely Lily Chen; and, most importantly, we get these two meeting each other, not liking each other, learning to respect each other, and being head over heels for each other in a matter of around a hundred pages. Knowing that they end up very much in love and married just made their interactions even cuter.

We also got a return appearance of Lily and Raphael, who also get to be delightfully queer. Lily is at peak pansexual immortal, making out with (according to her) six faerie girls, four faerie boys, and a talking toadstool with an unknown gender at a single party. Then there's Raphael, who is at peak Done aro/ace, declaring that his sexuality is 'not interested'.

I know I'm going on about the LGBTQ+ content of this book but it was honestly so lovely so read a YA fantasy that just basks in its queerness. I could go on for ages about how I genuinely feel like Cassandra Clare doesn't get enough credit for her inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in her books, but that's a rant for another time.

On a plot level, this book isn't fantastic but it also isn't bad by any means. It's a fun, adventurous romp with an element of mystery which, while not being overly amazing in the grand scheme of things, is still good enough to keep you entertained while the characters are enthralling you.

I know this review was a bit all over the place, but oh whale. If you're a fan of the Shadowhunter books, or even if you remember reading TMI back in the day and liking Malec, then I would recommend giving this a look because it's just an entertaining, gay ol' time.

Review can also be found on my blog.


content warnings: loss of a loved one, discussions of the deaths of children, children sickness
representation: mexican protagonist, main and side characters, mexican main character with cystic fibrosis, asian side character

“Last year, I met the cutest boy I have ever seen!”
“You did?”
“Yes! Too bad he's been dead for over a century...”

I think I need to steal all of my sister's Raina Telgemeier books because this is my second one and I loved it just as much as the first.

This follows Cat, a girl whose family has to move to the coast of California because her younger sister, Maya, has cystic fibrosis. The two girls discover that the town is known for its ghosts, and while Cat is initially skeptical as the Day of the Dead approaches she starts to question her beliefs.

There wasn't anything in this I didn't enjoy. The art style was cute, the plot was simple but nice, and the characters were incredibly endearing. My favourite part of this though was the way it looks at death.

Maya, being a young girl with cystic fibrosis, has more or less accepted that she's going to die young. I can't even express how heartbreaking it is to see a girl who isn't even ten yet just be so nonchalant about the fact that her entire family is probably going to outlive her. This tied in so well with the Day of the Dead plot, specifically with Maya feeling like she needs to ask the ghosts everything about death.

For a cute middle grade book, this tackles the topic of the imminent death of a young character with a surprising amount of grace and care. I feel like this is a really good graphic novel to introduce young kids to the concept of death, and is just generally a sweet graphic novel that I would recommend for anyone who wants a good, quick read.

“Sometimes I think, What if I leave me body one day and keep going? What if I let go of the earth and nothing brings me back? If I left, would I find Dad?”

Review also posted to my blog.


content warnings: discussions of sport-related injury
representation: sapphic black main character, sapphic main characters of colour, transgender main character, non-binary main character of colour, main characters of colour

“Well, Charlie, we're forming a basketball team and need one more player to be eligible.”
“This school... has sports?!”
“Well, no... not yet.”

I absolutely loved the first volume of Heavy Vinyl, Carly Usdin's previous comic, so I jumped at the chance to read what she wrote next, and I was not disappointed! Similarly to Heavy Vinyl this follows a diverse, ragtag group and their wacky adventures, except instead of working at a record store these gals and non-binary pals are playing basketball at an arts college.

I loved everything about this. The characters are such a fun group and their dynamics are all great. They all initially fit neatly into their chosen stereotypes - the witch, the type-A, the optimist, etc. - but they quickly branch out into their own unique characterisation. The main f/f couple was also super cute and I can't wait to see how that develops in the future.

If you want a quick, fun comic with a diverse group of gals and non-binary pals playing sport and forming friendships, then you should definitely check this out.


I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.